About me: I’m a development economist specialising in the economics and financing of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. After 10 years in WASH consulting, research and advocacy, I’m now undertaking a PhD in economics at LSHTM. I research the costs and cost-effectiveness of urban sanitation, with a focus on an ongoing controlled trial of a shared sanitation intervention in Maputo, Mozambique. Before joining LSHTM, I established and grew a six-strong water team at Oxford Policy Management, leading WASH consulting projects for clients including the World Bank, DFID and UNICEF. Prior to that, I was in WaterAid’s policy team working on a variety of research and advocacy. My work has taken me to 14 countries across Africa and Asia.
The difference my research makes: cost-effectiveness analyses are crucial for making decisions between different intervention options. Cost analyses are a crucial input into those, but also important in their own right for financial planning by governments and service providers. Evidence on both is severely lacking for the sanitation sector in developing countries. A better understanding, developed through my research, will add to the body of knowledge supporting efficient decisions at national and international level.
Supervisors: Giulia Greco, Oliver Cumming and Graham Medley
Selected publications:
- ‘Beyond “functionality” of handpump supplied rural water services in developing countries’. Waterlines 35 (1) 94-110. Co-authored with Carter R C, (2016)
- ‘Fecal sludge management : diagnostics for service delivery in urban areas – Summary Report’ World Bank technical paper. Co-authored with Scott, R, Blackett, I and Hawkins, P. (2016)
- ‘Value for Money analysis of DFID-funded WASH programmes in six countries: Synthesis report’ OPM research report. Co-authored with Trémolet, S., Prat, M-A., Tincani, L., Mujica, A., Burr, P. and Evans, B. (2015)
- ‘The economics of climate change adaptation in Africa’s water sector : a review and way forward’ ODI working paper. Co-authored with Doczi, J (2014)
Pathway: International Development
Location: LSHTM Department of Global Health and Development
Blog: www.WASHeconomics.com
Twitter: twitter.com/IanRossUK
